1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composite type card connector used for an information terminal device or an electronic instrument such as a portable telephone, a telephone set, PDA (personal digital assistance), a game machine, a notebook type personal computer, a portable audio set, a television set, a video deck or a digital camera, and so on.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in an information terminal device or an electronic instrument such as a portable telephone, a telephone set, PDA (personal digital assistance), a game machine, a notebook type personal computer, a portable audio set, a television set, a video deck or a digital camera, the use of IC cards, PC cards, SD cards, SIM cards or the like in which IC parts called as IC chips for CPU or memory are incorporated have been rapidly increased, and therefore, a composite type card connector has been widely required for inserting a small-sized memory card such as an IC card, PC card, SD card or SIM card. Particularly, a composite type card connector thin in thickness and small in size as a whole has been required, having a strength sufficient for being durable against the frequent insert and withdrawal of the card, capable of easily discharging the inserted card, as well as commonly usable for two kinds of cards having different sizes.
In the conventional composite type card connector, however, it is necessary for the card to be modified when two kinds of cards such as an IC card, PC card, SD card or SIM card, different in thickness and/or width are commonly used by the same composite type card connector. Further, in the conventional composite type card connector, card-inserting openings matched with sizes of the respective cards are provided for a card-mounting section. In such a case, it has been required that cards different in size are mounted to a single composite type card connector because of the miniaturization of the device to be used and the limitation of installation space for an internal printed circuit board.
For example, as described in European Patent Application Laid-open No. 1146474, the conventional composite type card connector is provided in a connector housing with a pair of guide grooves for supporting opposite side edges of an upper body of a first thicker card and opposite side edges of a body of a second thinner card and guiding the first and second cards to be inserted or discharged, and side walls for defining a space for accommodating a lower body of the first card beneath a space formed between the pair of guide grooves. However, in the prior art described in this publication, it is necessary to modify the cards so that two kinds of cards are usable in the same composite type card connector.
Also, since the cards are different from each other in length, width and/or thickness as a whole, if contacts are provided in conformity with the small card, the contacts are largely displaced when the large card is inserted, and when the large card is inserted or discharged, the card is damaged by the contacts to deteriorate the durability of the card. Further, if a relief is provided at a front end of the contact to avoid the buckling of the contact, there is a problem in that a mounting height becomes larger.